I have a lot of stories about my girlfriends, but I can’t always pull them out of my brain to push them into a Girlfriendships® blog. I struggle between current topics or old stories. Drama or the sunny side of life. Who to tell you a story about and who not. There are some days when I can’t wait to sit at my laptop and type away. Other days I sit and stare at my screen, mentally scrolling through my file cabinet of memories hoping one stands out.

Yesterday, I tried to prepare early enough to write something without being stuck today. I asked a guy friend what he thought a good topic would be for today’s blog and he said, “Dieting. Talk about the different diets that women always try in January.” 

Good idea! Thanks Brad.

Now that we’re four weeks into the new year, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the progress on resolutions—diets in particular. But first, let’s focus on resolutions for a moment, shall we? 

 My Virgo-ness is year ‘round

Honestly, New Year’s resolutions used to be my thing. See, I’m a Virgo, so I err on the organized, neat-and-tidy side. I line up my shoes. I fold the towels perfectly. Dirty dishes don’t have a chance in my kitchen. That said, January always seemed like a great time to make a fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to squeeze out the bad and open up for the new. 

When I had my own place, the entire house (usually an apartment) would get an overhaul in the first week of the first month of a brand-new year. I took a day to clean out my closet and get rid of any shoes, purses, and clothes that I hadn’t worn that year and donate them so that someone else could have a life with them. Then, I cleaned my room until it was spotless, and organized all of my shoes. This was usually an easy task—you know, it’s the Virgo thing.  

Once I had a family, I started going through the kid’s closets and rooms to donate. (My husband followed suit. He’s a great cleaner-outer!) Now that the kids are no longer in need of my help in cleaning their rooms and closets, I’ve relaxed a bit. Most everything in my house is cleaned out, organized, and items are donated more often during the year—rather than just in January. 

My Approach to Resolutions

Even though I still get this rush for renewal every January, I’ve given up making New Year’s resolutions. Once I had kids, I firmly resolved to be a better person, not let “things” pile up, and to eat as healthy-ily as I could. It was, and still is, important to me to be a good example all the time, not just once a year. 

Resolution dieting has never really been my thing, yet there has always been a certain mystique behind dieting for me. I love understanding nutrition and how my body functions around it. I also have minor knowledge about vitamins, minerals, over the counter, and prescription drugs. Both my mom and my mother-in-law taught me about those. Edna, my mother, was a prescription medication addict. Mignette, my mother-in-law, was a former surgical nurse and had a very broad education of health. 

Now to Brad’s Suggestion

Despite my personal approach to diets, Brad did have a good idea. So, let’s talk about them. I wish you were here with me (physically), yes you, the reader, so we could have a conversation about the ones you have chosen over the years, which ones have worked for you, and the ones that have not. And I would love to know if you recommend any in particular and why. 

I seem to know a little about popular diets. Here’s the list of the ones I’ve heard of (I’m sure I’ve missed many, but in general, these are the ones I know about): 

•       South Beach
•       Keto
•       Paleo
•       Atkin’s
•       No Fruit Before Noon
•       Intermittent Fasting
•       Crazy Sexy Diet 
•       No Carb
•       The Master Cleanse
•       Vegetarian
•       Carnivore
•       Laura’s

Wait. Who’s Laura and Why is Her Diet on that List?  

If you’re puzzled by the last bullet, you should be. Who’s Laura? She’s the cutie sitting next to me on my Delta flight coming back from Florida. She was down there for a friend’s birthday party on a girl’s weekend. Imagine that! (Be sure to look for her review on our page. She has some suggestions for things to do and places to stay while in the Sarasota area of Florida.)

As I was typing that list of diets, I took off my Sade-blasting-aqua-colored headphones and asked if she could help me name some diets. She said, “Well, I have mixed a couple of them together and lost 60 pounds.”

WHAT?! Yes, my eyes bulged and I wanted to know more. 

“Tell me, tell me please, what did you do?” (I’m guessing you’re dying to know, in these cold winter doldrums of January, what else she did right? Ha ha me too! Keep reading.)

Laura’s Diet

Laura said she combined keto, paleo, and detoxing. She started her mornings with a strawberry lemonade detox smoothie. That would fill her up until the hands struck noon. For lunch, she would have a salad packed with protein. She would add fresh steak, chicken, tuna, or eggs to give her that boost. Absolutely no processed meat like turkey or ham from a package! Some days she decided to do veggies, raw or steamed, with her protein. She included nut butter-filled celery sticks or nuts for midday snacks—almonds, pistachios, cashews—whatever appealed to her. Then for dinner she did another smoothie. This one included veggies as well. 

Laura also cut out carbs, in particular chips. (Man, that’s my downfall! As I’ve said hundreds of times, “If you are what you eat, I am a chip”.) She said she was never hungry throughout the day.  

Along with her new eating regime, she incorporated working out. She did the Brazilian Butt Lift video for 20 minutes in the morning from home and went to the YMCA for an hour in the evening to get on the elliptical machine. Laura said that her daughter thought she was a little obsessive, but when the weight starts coming off, your mind is clear, you feel amazing, and it’s difficult to stop with what becomes positive in your life. 

The Lesson (There’s Always a Lesson)

I have a new friend! I know that comes as a shock. You all know I gather friends like I gather my high heels! I’d like to keep in touch with Laura as both of us jokingly said we are going to start “Laura’s Diet” on Monday. Wait! Didn’t I say that “dieting has never really been my thing”? 

Well, sometimes you need a friend by your side to make positive changes in your life. My closets are cleaned out. My clothes, shoes, purses, and much more has been donated and (I hope) has all gone to good homes. Now, I think it’s time for me (and Laura) to clean out ourselves. 

       I love that you were with me today. See you next week!

      XO,

     Loopie